I've used my Travel Scoot for two years now, but have had
battery issues. We really
enjoy Carnival cruises, but the standard door is 22" wide, and my Scoot is 23" wide. So I need
to fold it down every time I go back to the cabin. My last cruise I just skipped some activities instead. So I'm thinking about selling my
regular Scoot and buying the new Shopper model, which being even lighter is
appealing to me. Anyone tried
it?

Thanks so much,

Julie

You can answer Julie's question by posting a comment on this post, or you can send it to me (elizabeth@ifisher.com) and I'll be sure she gets it. If you have this model and have a picture of yourself using it, I know I'm not the only one who wants to see it!

Unfold the basket and hook the little bungee cord with one end on one center bottom of the folding side panels, pull it underneath the bottom and hook the other end to the other folding panel.This will prevent possible loss of little items stored in the basket later on.

Remove the beige plastic bar from the channel slot on top of the foot rest arc (that bar is just a protection of the channel during shipping). Rest the basket with the hinge facing toward the rear into the channel slot.

Open the reusable cable tie (already in the correct place around two bars) on the basket's rear upper middle section and tie it loose onto the steering column, so that the collar clamp can still rotate when steering.

Insert the two hitch pins into the channel on the inner side next to the vertical basket bars.

You can also attach the basket to the rear.

Hook the little bungee cord to the side panels in the same way as described above.

Rest the basket with its forward edge on top of the battery* and tie it with just one cable tie onto the yoke just underneath the lever clamp.

Do not load more than 15 pounds into the basket.

* With the basket mounted on the rear you cannot stack a second SLA battery on top of main battery. Only two Li-Ion batteries stacked on top of each other will still accept the Basket.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Fellow TravelScooter Keith mentioned in a recent post that he had taken his scoot on a Viking River Cruise in Europe. This prompted questions, including one from Robert, who saw on the website for Viking European river cruises that they were unable to accept disabled passengers with scooters. He wants to know which river cruiselines do accept them.

Below is Keith's response:

Good question. The short answer is, at the present time, I don’t think any of them presently advertise or publicly admit to allowing people with scooters.

The reasons, I believe, are several. First, the river ships are not built for them. There is no way you could take a regular sized mobility scooter down some of the narrow gangplanks much less drive them down the very narrow hallways or manoeuvre them into the staterooms. You also cannot use them while on the ship; there’s just no room. Taking them on the excursions is also somewhat problematic. Many of the times you have to take a bus to the destination. Sometimes there are steep stairs and many of the streets, in the areas where the ships dock and conduct their tours, are cobblestone with limited curb cuts. There is also the potential problem of getting off the ship when it is ‘rafted’ (when two or three ship are tied up beside one another) to another. In that case you’d need to be able to climb to whatever deck they’re using for crossing from one ship to the next, go through the other ships and then off the gangplank on the nearest one to shore. If everything is connected on the middle deck that wouldn’t be a problem; if however it’s connected on the upper deck that may be a problem as you’d need someone to carry the scooter up the last flight (many of the cruise ships have elevators – not all so make sure you check – but they don’t go to the top deck so you’d need to be able to walk to the top deck and have someone carry the scoot up to the top deck) and then through the other ship(s) and down onto the dock. Problematic? Potentially. Impossible? No.

Why don’t they advertise it or willingly accept them? I think it’s because they’re scared of the word motorized. They may well envision a large scooter that is too wide for the gangplank and weighing in at up to 200 lbs. Not something that would be easy for the crew to deal with. For some reason they don’t wish to listen to reason and are presently sticking by their standard statements where they try and lump everyone into one category. Viking’s statement is “Motorized scooters are not typically suitable on international cruises and cannot be accommodated.

I don’t think the Travelscoot is a typical scooter and there is nothing they need to do to ‘accommodate’ it other than allow the person to bring it - accommodation for it is even less so than for a manual wheelchair (I say less, because it’s smaller than a standard manual wheelchair and it weighs less than a standard manual wheelchair) but they do allow manual wheelchairs.

Having said that, we did take our Travelscoot (BTW, I am in no way connected with Travelscoot, other than I own one) on a Viking River Cruise last year. We informed them of it and I needed to provide them with the specifics and a doctor’s note regarding its use. The Travelscoot was narrow enough to take up and down the gang planks. I was able to park it next to the two wheelchairs in the lobby (taking my battery with me into the stateroom). Please note that I was able to walk, with my cane and braces, the short distance to the room. This would be a necessity. I (or the bus driver) was able to place it in the luggage storage area under the bus for transportation. There were never any issues (just remember to apply the brake so it doesn’t go rolling around). Using it I never held anyone back and I was able to travel to most of the places (there were two places that I couldn’t take it and that was because they both involved multiple stairs and very uneven terrain) that were offered. I was able to use it on all of the streets. It’s light enough that I could lift it, if necessary, where there were no curb cutaways. Was it a simple matter? No, not all the time. But we could certainly solve any problems we ran into. Having said that, I often run into situations here in our home town or when travelling to other places. Most of these problems, I have found, can be solved. It’s no different on a river cruise.

We loved our trip and would like to do several more. We are in the planning phases for one for next year but at the present time Viking is telling me that I’m not allowed to bring the Travelscoot. They admit that they can’t stop me from bringing one but tell me that I will not be able to use it on the excursions (however I’m more than welcome to ‘walk’ or bring a manual wheelchair even if it is larger and heavier).

I find some of their statements insulting and bordering on rude. Why are we wanting to travel again with Viking? Basically we really, really enjoyed our time. The crew (from the officers to chefs to wait staff to room service to program director to deck crew) really made the trip and we’d like to experience it one or two more times before we are not able to travel any more. I thought there would be no problems with taking the Travelscoot on another Viking cruise because we’d done it once and there were no issues for the staff and the few we had for ourselves we dealt with. However, we were referred to a ‘Senior Director of Reservations’ who is being quite obstinate. I think they have a large enough clientele base and don’t believe they need to cater to those of us who have disabilities. It will only change if people question them and challenge their ‘rules’.

Several of the lines now offer ‘disabled’ suites. I believe Scenic does. Although they don’t state that they allow scooters some companies are slowly making some accommodations. I would encourage you not to give up. There were several people on our cruise that came despite needing a mobility aid like a scooter but were told no by Viking. They regretted not fighting to take one as they had great difficulties on the excursions (it’s not that distance wise the excursions are that long but many of us have difficulties with walking and then standing for protracted periods and then repeating the cycle).

Hi Elizabeth, greetings from a peer TravelScooter. I just came back from Chehalis, WA where I took my scoot for a facelift. Live close to there. She’s an oldie but goody and has taken me many a mile through just about everything. Lots of rain, downpours and mud puddles (live in Oregon). She was starting to stutter some and I have a lot of upcoming miles to go. Feel blessed to be close to Chehalis. Anyway, I took a couple of pics while I was there. Thought your TravelScoot followers would like to see them.

In March or this year, I found myself at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, a very large and imposing facility. Fortunately for me, I had my Travel Scoot with me, so we were able to get around the facility quite quickly, and quite well. What a blessing that was. Many of the people there were being transported in wheel chairs. Being such a large facility, getting around was very tiring for both the patient and the caregiver wheeling them around, and there were very many of these folks here.

Not all of the tests and procedures were in the same place. Mayo Building for one, this building for another, take a break in the cafeteria and wait for your next appointment, then back again to the Mayo Building, unbelievable! I was there for 12 days and pretty much that is what happened every day. It was tiring for me and my wife; I can only imagine how it was for the other folks. If I would have had an odometer, I would guess I would have put on maybe 20 miles over that period of time.

As it was, I was maneuvering around the facility like you wouldn’t believe. My wife kept telling me to slow down, you’re going too fast. We went from our hotel to the clinic and in our in between times, we wandered around this humongous “city within a city”, walking subways meandering throughout, then on the skyways connecting all the buildings, this whole concept is very impressive. More than a few people stopped to ask me about my TS; showed them by picking it up how lite it was, and how it open and folded so easily.

My Doctor, the Nurse Practitioner and a few of the technicians were all amazed at the size and scope of TS. Once, while I was receiving a treatment, one of the technicians asked me if he could try it out and I said sure, just be back here before my treatment is finished.

All in all, my TS was a life and wife saver. It made it easier for me, but more importantly, for my wife, who without TS, would have been pushing me around those 20 or so miles, either that or we would have to stay grounded instead of wandering around.

I am so glad I found Tony, Bonnie and my Travel Scoot. They have all made my life much easier to get thru. And special thanks to Hardy for inventing Travel Scoot.

Friday, March 21, 2014

I have learned that it is best to remove the battery when you are having your TravelScoot put in the trunk of the taxi. In Japan for some reason the taxi drivers keep dropping and ruining batteries. If you are lucky enough to find a Toyota Prius taxi, the scoot fits perfectly in the trunk with only the steering column dropped down; you don't have to take off the seat. In many cities I have gone to, there are vans which are the best way to transport the TravelScoot and yourself.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

My name is Keith and I’ve read many of the interesting comments on your blog and was intrigued by the acknowledged use of people using it in so many different countries. The comments were enough to convince me to try and take mine with me on a European river cruise and it worked out well, with virtually no problems. My wife would now like to venture out to China. We’ve been a few times before but I had my mobility at that time so this would be totally new territory. I recognize many of the limitations of disabled travel in Asia but I think the TravelScoot would be ok there. What I am wondering about is whether anyone experienced difficulties in bringing the TravelScoot with them to China and intercity travel within China. In a recent posting (June 2013) on a cruise site (http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=39386138), I’d read that they won’t allow you to transport a Lithium Ion battery within airports or on planes and am wondering if that has been people’s experience and/or how people went about getting permission to bring one BEFORE travelling. Here, in North America (I’m in Canada) it’s pretty straightforward and similarly in much of Europe but I’m concerned about the potential difficulties in China.

Any comments anyone can make or info anyone can pass on would be greatly appreciated.

The pictures and comments below are from a recent trip to Europe.

Melk, Austria. The sand/gravel mix off the cobblestone was harder to get traction on but it was possible

Bratislava, Slovakia

Regensburg, Germany

Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna. The gravel was no problem for the TravelScoot

The Residenz, Wertheim, Germany (and yes, that is a very fine gravel and it is quite a bit higher than the ground level. I had virtually no problems with the TravelScoot)

Melk, Austria. Going up or down was no problem

Cologne, Germany. Although travel over the cobblestones shakes one, as long as you travel fairly slowly it’s not too bad. Though I did find that not all cobblestones are created equally. Some were very hard to travel on and others were not bad at all.

If anyone has questions about taking a TravelScoot on a river cruise I’d be happy to try and answer them.

Monday, March 17, 2014

You've seen lots of pictures of Rhonda on this blog over the last few years. She's had quite a few scooter adventures, as you can tell from the pictures below.

You might have thought she was all out of new ideas, but recently her husband (normally her scooter wrangler) became an occasional scooter rider while he recovered from major surgery. Here they are on a recent shopping trip to SAMs Club. Dave is trying not to crush the chips.

In this picture, if you look closely you'll see a cluster of TravelScoots. That's me, Dave, and Rhonda at a restaurant not far from my house. Isn't it amazing how little space we were able to park them in? See if you can find all 3 scoots in the picture.

And finally, this is how they normally "scoot" together. This picture is certainly worth a thousand words.

This post is from Cat. When she contacted me to show her my scooter, she didn't know she was going to get me AND Rhonda for a couple of hours, telling her everything we had experienced and learned about scooting. What can I say? She was like a sponge with the information and Rhonda and I just couldn't quit talking!

A scoot loaded into the back of a Juke

I would say that my biggest challenge was that I was not emotionally prepared to go out scooting. When I got into Walmart, I got so many stares and people approaching me about the TravelScoot that it became more than what I was ready for. I know, I know…. Both you and Rhonda warned me, but I still wasn’t prepared.

A lot of people just stared because they had never seen anything like the TravelsScoot. It was a little weird, as I was not used to all the attention. Some people asked about the TravelScoot and I gave them a business card. I was completely unprepared for people that felt like they could ask me ANYTHING; like what was my personal situation. Luckily since the TravelScoot is so AWESOME, I was able to just “speed away” when I wanted the conversation to end.

The TravelScoot performed as promised and I was not disappointed. It held all my groceries, it maneuvered through tight spaces and made going from one side of the store to another very easy. I waited until I got to the bread aisle before I tried the tight circle turn around you showed me. In preparing for the worse I figured the bread aisle was the safest as it could sustain a fall off the shelf and also double as cushion if I completely botched it. HA… complete turnaround with no issues and not a single loaf of bread even touched.

When I got to my car, I had quite a few blonde moments…..which do you load first groceries or scooter? If you load the groceries first you have to make sure that they are not in the way of loading the scooter. If you load the scooter first, what the heck do you do with the groceries while loading the scooter. Btw, when you set Walmart bags on the ground, the groceries try to escape. At any rate, overall the trip was a success.

I will be heading to Disney on Saturday. I am both excited and nervous. It will be my first airport experience and the real test for me being on the TravelScoot for a first week. My only concerns are more about how I handle the attention and being patient as I am sure things will take longer. (I’m not known for my patience).

Thanks to Hardy Huber and Daniel in London for the information and links in this post:

Pioneers of the Free Fall: Servus TV in Germany made a film about Hardy Huber's (and his friends') history in skydiving 40 years ago and their lives now. The TravelScoot gets a good appearance and you also get to see Hardy doing things in the 1980s, like jumping off freeway overpass bridges and out of airplanes, both with parachutes.

If you'd like to view it from the ServusTV site, go to http://www.servustv.com/cs/Satellite/VOD-Mediathek/001259088496198?p=1259088496182
and scroll all the way down, select page 6 and click Pioniere des freien Falls (Pioneers of the Free Fall). ServusTV is owned by the makers of Red Bull energy drinks, and they show many extreme sports action films. There are 4 films in this series, with the first shown on Saturday, February 8, 2014, and then on the next 3 Saturdays.

Thanks to Daniel for putting the videos on YouTube so we could view them easily!

Saturday, March 15, 2014

I bought a Travelscoot last year, after being sick of missing out on things
that I used to do. See ‘Why Travelscoot was the right choice for Deborah’ in
this blog last September. After a bit of a shaky start with Scoot, as I built
up confidence, my world has expanded such a lot. My weekends are filled with
trips to museums, galleries and shopping malls. And now my husband and I go to
the supermarket together, and it’s me who goes to collect forgotten
items from the furthest aisle! We have 2 cars, mine is a Mini Roadster
(two-seater) and folded, Scoot fits in the boot with enough room to spare for my
shopping. My husband has a Vauxhall Agila (a small hatchback), and with one of
the back seats folded down, we just lift Scoot in fully assembled (just drop the
handle-bars). I can do this by myself as Scoot is so light. This is our
preferred option when we’re going to several places in one trip, as it means you
stop the car and you’re on the go in an instant.

So Scoot has brought a lot of extra things into my life, but recently “he’s”
helped me to carry on with something I was struggling with – travelling to my
London office. I have a national job, but I do a lot of my travelling by car,
and so I haven’t, up until now, used Scoot for work. Unfortunately, no-one
else in my organisation uses a mobility aid, and although I started using a
rollator a year or two ago to help me walk, people have staunchly ignored this,
without asking about my increasing difficulty in walking. Oh, some have
politely helped me with doors, but generally people act as if nothing has
changed. Even when I’ve tried to introduce the topic, people quickly change the
subject! My own team are supportive and sympathetic, but my own boss also just
ignores my failing mobility, even when I’ve tried to introduce the topic during
supervision! Whether this is embarrassment, disinterest or just not knowing what
to say ... well, who knows but it did make me reticent about using Scoot for
work.

However, for anyone who has travelling on London transport, they might
appreciate just how far you have to walk sometimes. I catch a mainline train
into Kings Cross station, and if you’re in standard class carriages, then you’re
at the back of the train and you have to walk the full length of the train
before getting to the station concourse. A station employee told me this is a
quarter of a mile. Kings Cross has recently undergone some major refurbishment,
and although this looks great, it means the walk across the concourse is even
further, and then I have to leave the station and walk across a few roads to get
to my bus stop. It was all becoming just too far – and a trip to our London
office was something I began to dread. I used to come home exhausted and my
legs would be sore for days afterwards.

Two weeks ago I had a trip to Head Office coming up, and because it’s been
very cold and damp, my mobility problems were worse than usual, and I was
dreading the trip to London. So I decided this was the time to take Scoot on
his first London adventure. I thought it would be useful to tell others about
my experiences in case they are also contemplating a trip to England’s capital
city, either for business or pleasure.

The first leg of my journey is by mainline train. Different train operators
run different routes on UK trains. If you book your ticket, it will tell you
the name of the train operator on your travel documents. For my trip I was
travelling with East Coast going, and Hull Trains coming back. Each train
operator website has a number to phone to book assistance, and this is best done
at least 24 hours in advance. Even though I was travelling with two different
operators, one phone call allowed me to book assistance for both East Coast and
Hull Trains. Once you’ve booked assistance you’re registered on their system,
and so booking next time is easier. You receive an email confirming all
arrangements, and this is sent to the relevant stations so that station staff
know what sort of assistance you need. I explained that I didn’t need a ramp to
get into the train, but I needed help to lift Scoot on and off the train. (NB
for people who haven’t used UK trains, the step into them is quite high and not
very wide – even if you can lift Scoot yourself, it is better to have someone to
help because if you have mobility problems you really need to hold on when
getting on and off the train). Plus, if you don’t want to fold Scoot down for
the train, then it’s difficult to know where he would stand. I originally
booked for Scoot to travel with the luggage in the Guard’s van, but actually
when they saw how compact he was, they moved me to a wheelchair space (each
train has three wheelchair spaces) – with Scoot sitting in the wheelchair space
and me on a seat nearby. This was ideal as it meant I had Scoot near and could
make sure his power was off etc. I now request this when I phone up to book my
travel assistance. When you’ve booked assistance you need to arrive at an
information point, (this will be on your confirmation email) around twenty
minutes before you’re due to travel.

The quickest route to my office is via the London Underground system – the
Tube. This is a travel system that is over 100 years old, and although a lot of
money is being spent on upgrading it, there are still only a handful of stations
that offer step-free access, and level access from the train to the platform.
You can find a list of them here: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaround/accessibility-guides/default.aspx
Unfortunately the nearest station to my office isn’t step free, and has some
of the longest escalators that I’ve ever seen! I didn’t feel confident about
taking Scoot up and down them for my first trip to London. The other option was
to get the tube to an accessible station and then jump into a London Black Cab.
These are very roomy and could easily accommodation Scoot inside, without
folding. They also all have a ramp which folds out. The route down to the
Victoria line from Kings Cross can be made by lifts, but it’s a good 10 minutes
walk (for someone with no mobility issues) so it’s always been out of bounds for
me. Coupled with another walk at the other end, from the station, over some
very uneven ground (I’m not too steady on my feet) – and I’ve opted for the
London bus for a few years now.

London buses are really very good, and an excellent way of getting around
London. Apart from being able to see the sights, you can usually get fairly
near to where you want to go, and buses run very frequently. The ‘Transport for
London’ site has a journey planner, which allows you to put in choices and
mobility needs, and it finds the best route for you. (www.tfl.gov.uk)
Buses are also very accessible. They have two sets of doors – one for getting
on, and one for getting off. And the exit doors, in the middle of the bus, have
an expanding ramp which provides access from the bus to the pavement. Each bus
has one wheelchair space, which can also accommodate scooters. Until fairly
recently (I think about a year ago), mobility scooters weren’t allowed on London
buses, but then Transport for London produced a list of scooters which were
suitable for travel. The main consideration being size, weight and the turning
circle. The list used to be published online, but it’s not there any more. But
I did see it whilst it was still posted, and knew that Travelscoot was one of
the approved scooters. It is now possible to get a ‘Mobility Aid Card’ which
confirms that your scooter (or other walking aid) conforms to the approved
specification. You apply for this via the Travel Mentor service, and a Mentor
will also meet with you and help you on your first couple of journeys, until you
build up confidence travelling on public transport. The card and the Travel
Mentor service are free, and so is travelling on London buses on your scooter
(or in a wheelchair). More details here: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/transportaccessibility/1171.aspx
And there is a video here which shows you exactly what to do if you want to use
a London bus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj07TEsRbNk
All bus drivers have been given special training to help disabled
passengers.

Having decided to go for it, I booked my assistance, and contacted the Travel
Mentor scheme. Unfortunately they didn’t have anyone available to meet me on
the first day I was travelling, but I decided to give it a go! I booked into
the station without any problems, and the station staff were very helpful, even
though I had some small difficulty persuading them that I didn’t need a ramp!
My train terminates at Kings Cross so I sat tight as everyone else got off and
then another member of staff came onto the train and got Scoot off for me. I
then jumped on and whizzed up the station, passing other passengers for the
first time ever! In no time I was at my usual bus stop and after a few minutes
my bus appeared. Still sitting on Scoot I clearly indicated to the driver that I
wanted to board, and then waited whilst other passengers got off. Then the
doors shut, and an alert message started and the ramp extended out onto the
pavement. Once the ramp was fully extended the doors opened and I rode Scoot up
the ramp. It was quite steep near the top, but there is a handle on the door,
so by grabbing that and pushing with my feet on the floor, I made it onto the
bus. You then have to take a sharp right, and reverse Scoot into the wheelchair
space. There is a padded backrest and I parked Scoot against that, put on the
brakes, turned off the power, and put my feet firmly on the floor. And I stayed
there for the rest of my journey. When I wanted to get off, there is a special
‘blue’ button that you press, and this alerts the driver that you’re at your
stop. So, same thing in reverse: the other passengers get off, the doors close,
the ramp extends and then the doors open. I ‘walked’ Scoot down the ramp and
then went on with my trip. I have to get a second bus, this time a smaller
‘single decker’, which had exactly the same facilities. Then I scooted into the
office and went to my meeting. Later in the day I did the whole thing in
reverse, and arrived home feeling fine. Normally I’m absolutely exhausted and
in pain.

My first trip was on a Friday which is quieter than usual going into London,
as a lot of commuters work from home that day. My next trip was really very
different, because it was during a Tube strike. If the underground isn’t
running properly then there is much more pressure on roads and buses, with
everything being much busier than usual. This time I did meet the Travel
Mentor, but as she could see that I was coping fine, she issued me with my card
and let me go on my way. The bus queues were really long, but I persevered and
undertook my journey the same as the week before. It all took a lot longer, but
I was so glad that I had Scoot as I waited half an hour at the bus stop and then
was on the bus for about an hour. It would have been unlikely that I would have
got a seat, so I really would have been struggling. My meeting finished early
to accommodate the extra travel time needed, so I was back at Kings Cross with
lots of time to spare. I went for a cup of coffee, and looked around the shops
in the station. Normally I just sink onto the nearest seat and stay there until
it’s time for the long trek down the platform. Now I’m planning on booking a
later train home in future so that I can incorporate trips to the British
Library and British Museum, and all of the other London attractions that I’ve
wanted to visit for so long. In the summer I’m planning to take the Tube to
Green Park underground station (which is step free) and ‘scoot’ through the
park, past the Houses of Parliament and along the river to my office. Once
again Scoot is opening up my world and adding enjoyment and excitement whilst
relieving pain and discomfort.

I am really glad that I’ve made the effort to take Scoot to London. Station
staff have been very impressed (and grateful) by how light Scoot is to get on
and off the train, and his distinctive looks have aroused some interest. None
of my work colleagues have commented on me using a mobility scooter, but I’ve
found myself talking about it, and hopefully this will start the conversation
and help other people who may be struggling with disabilities. Let’s hope
so!

My top tips for travelling to London with Scoot:

Plan ahead – book assistance for the mainline train, and plan the best route
using the guides available

If you’re using the bus, watch the video, it helps you to see exactly what
you have to do

Take your time getting on and off the bus, especially until you get used to
it

If you’re using the Tube, check out whether your station is accessible or
not

Contact the Travel Mentor service for help and advice if there’s anything
you’re not sure about

Leave some time in your itinerary for shopping and sight-seeing!

I hope this helps reassure anyone else who is struggling to get around
London. Kind regards, Deborah

Due to a dropped battery I had to leave with one lithium
battery on a 2 week trip to Japan.
I can tell you I was a bit nervous but when I got on the Singapore Air Flight 11 from Los Angeles I
found they had a

plug in so after we took off I hooked up my battery and
it charged leisurely as I flew 33,000 in the air. It can be done..ha ha.